Aurora Housing Authority names new executive director

The Aurora Housing Authority has selected a new executive director, after nearly a year under interim leadership.

Ralph Jordan is set to come to the Aurora Housing Authority from the Indianapolis Housing Agency, where he is chief operating officer, housing authority officials said in a statement. He will take over leadership of the agency as it seeks to remove the “troubled” label it has received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The housing authority was labeled “troubled” in part due to an audit that raised issues with the housing authority’s spending and personal use of vehicles. It also included findings the agency said were related to the affiliated Northern Lights Development Corporation, whose relationship with the housing authority has been detailed by The Beacon-News.

Aurora Housing Authority board chairman Joe Grisson said he has “no doubt at all” that Jordan can help the agency remove the “troubled” designation.

“Going forward, with having a full-time leader in that position, we’ll certainly be out of it sooner rather than later,” he said.

Jordan could also, eventually, lead the Northern Lights Development Corporation — the same setup that existed under the previous housing authority director — though the development corporation is currently inactive, Grisson said. Northern Lights is undergoing “restructuring” to ensure it complies with certain HUD guidelines, he said.

The Beacon-News has previously described the relationship between Northern Lights and the Aurora Housing Authority. The two had separate boards and offices, and shared staff members and the former housing authority executive director. They worked together on several projects and Northern Lights won at least two publicly-bid contracts from the housing authority, including one in which it did not offer the lowest estimated cost, The Beacon-News found.

Grisson said Northern Lights’ restructuring was partly due to the audit, and partly to some financial issues and its structure. Though the board would like to get the agency up and running, their priority is the housing authority, he said.

The housing authority has been led by an interim executive director since the former leader, Keith Gregory, left in June 2017 for a job leading a housing authority based in Juneau, Alaska. The job he had there is currently listed as vacant.

Since Gregory left, Director of Public Housing Maria Godinez has been acting as interim executive director. She will return to the role when Jordan takes over, Grisson said.

As chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Housing Agency, Jordan manages thousands of public housing units and Section 8 vouchers, along with other federally assisted housing programs, according to a statement from the Aurora Housing Authority.

He has worked in public housing for 27 years, including with housing authorities in Chicago and Cleveland, Ohio. He has a bachelor’s degree from Tiffin University in Ohio and a master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University, according to the Aurora Housing Authority.

Grisson said a news report that the Indianapolis Housing Agency was under federal review did not appear to be an issue, but the Aurora Housing Authority would look into it.

Jordan still has to undergo a background check, and will likely start July 1, if not earlier, Grisson said